Tess Westin
| affiliation = News Night | profession = Associate Producer | actor = Margaret Judson | season = 1, 2, 3 | episodes = 15 appearances | firstseen = | lastseen = }} Tess Westin is an associate producer for News Night. Biography News Night Loyalty Westin is one of the staff members who chose to remain with anchor Will McAvoy after his rant at Northwestern University. News Night 2.0 Unhappy with the way ACN and News Night was covering the news, new Executive Producer Mackenzie MacHale proposed "News Night 2.0", a complete overhaul of the way the news was covered based on three "I"s: 1) Is this information we need in the voting booth? 2) Is this the best possible form of the argument? 3) Is the story in historical context? The first effort to follow the new template goes awry when a major guest backs out of the program. Senior Producer Jim Harper calls an emergency meeting to find a replacement guest for the show. Unable to find a suitable replacement they get three highly unqualified guests for that evening's broadcast. Everyone is afraid to tell Will for fear of being fired. Mac again tries to defend Will and convince everyone that he's a good man. Frustrated she sends an email asking Will if she can reveal to everyone that she cheated on him. However, due to the new email system she sends it to the entire staff. Will is furious and then apoplectic when he finds out about the night's replacement guests. Just before the show begins Will decides to add a Sarah Palin clip behind MacKenzie's back because it will be good for ratings. He has Tess request relevant footage from graphics producer Joey Phan. The broadcast is predictably calamitous and the mistakes are compounded by Will refusing to listen to Mac's instructions during the show. His additional segment fares no better when his lack of preparation is obvious. The staff licks their wounds at Hang Chews karaoke bar after the broadcast. Jim asks Tess to take a drunken Maggie Jordan home. On air apology Following the disastrous broadcast Will issued an on air apology for his failings as Managing Editor of News Night. He pledged to do better in reporting the news to inform the electorate. The apology aired at the opening of the show on Monday, April 26, 2010 and helped bring the staff closer together. This was followed by improved coverage of the Times Square Bombing Attempt in May 2010. The 112th Congress elections News Night focuses a portion of its coverage on the Tea Party and their views, funding and co-opting of the Republican Party. The incisive coverage culminates with a live broadcast in November 2010 on the day of the 112th Congressional elections where the Tea Party win many seats. End of 2010 Tess attends the News Night New Years Eve party on December 31, 2010. The staff meet the next day to discuss stories they may have missed in 2010. They decide to pursue stories about misrepresentation; particularly of both The President's gun control record and his diplomatic trip to India. Neal's suggested Bigfoot story is shot down. Gabrielle Giffords shooting On Saturday January 8, 2011 Neal assembles the staff to pitch his Bigfoot story again. Maggie and Jim argue in front of the staff over Jim's lie about continuing to date her room mate Lisa Lambert. Jim punishes Maggie's insubordination by putting her on the assignment desk for the day. Maggie breaks up the meeting to announce the shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Tess helps to report the story. During the show's coverage, a false report spreads on Fox, CNN and MSNBC that the Congresswoman is dead. Reese Lansing charges into the studio to convince Will to report her death but Will refuses. Moments later reports that she is alive and in surgery are confirmed. February 2011 News Night covers civil unrest in Cairo after the Egyption president refuses to leave his post despite losing the election. Elliot Hirsch travels to Cairo to report from the scene but is forced to remain inside when riots break out. Elliot eventually tries to get footage outside but is attacked and injured. He returns to the US and News Night recruits "Amen" as a stringer to get footage of the riots. Amen performs well but then disappears. The staff discover that he has been taken into custody by the military, who are demanding an extortionate ransom. Will pays for Amen's release. Mac arranges for the staff to each give Will a cheque to contribute, mimicking a scene from one of Will's favorite films, Rudy. April 2011 News Night covers the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, Rick Santorum's public anti-homosexuality, and the proposed building of a Muslim community center at Ground Zero in New York. Will receives a death threat after the Ground Zero piece and is assigned a body guard, Lonny Church. Sloan announces information she obtained off the record during the Fukushima coverage and is reprimanded but ultimately allowed to publicly apologize. Behind the scenes Tess is a recurring character in the first season. She is played by co-star Margaret Judson and debuts in the series pilot . Appearances Category:Characters Category:News Night staff